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The Dawning Unguent
The Dawning Unguent- Following Tyrant's directions the GoG headed back to Grissol. After a bit of shopping for supplies and a short detour to Grandpappi's farm witch yielded nothing of significance they left the small town. They backtracked to a major fork, about an hour from Ogon'Ozero, and took the path that lead downwards. During their nightly rest of this leg of the journey they were attacked by a few citizens of Ogon'Ozero. The strange thing about it was that one of the attackers possessed a dragon headed coin, similar to the one given to them by Tyrant. By the middle of the following day they had reached the town of Klagnar's Descent. Kaszuk and Zorak have begun exhibiting strange behavior. Zorak has become prophetic, somehow. He seems to be having visions of terrible things to come no matter where they travel. Kaszuk is compulsively picking at the Tecticlan scar. When it is pointed out to him he stops, but seems to go back to it frequently and absentmindedly. The taint of evil that permeates this island is getting stronger as they travel deeper in the caves. It would seem that it is having a visceral effect on these two. Klagnar's Descent wasn't all that large and most of it seemed to be relegated to the transportation of goods to and from the bed. This was accomplished with a pair of massive chains that lead deep into the core with appropriately massive lifts attached. The town was populated the same as the others that the GoG had come across within Mt Khons with one noticeable difference, a slave race of lizardfolk. Barely dressed and each with a metal collar around their neck attached to a chain the lizardfolk were obviously viewed as property here. Kaszuk received many strange looks, not only was he walking around unchained but he carried himself with a confidence that the local lizardfolk had lost long ago. He had no pity for them, he viewed them as weak urchins who allowed this to happen to themselves. The slaves had a mixture of black and green scales witch meant to Kaszuk that they were a mutt race of green scale and black scale lizardfolk, witch only increased his loathing. The GoG learned that they needed to speak with the "lift master" in order to use the lift to reach the bed. The meeting with the lift master had mixed results. He insulted Kaszuk to the point that he leapt over the desk, attacking him and swiping at his face. Satisfied with his show of dominance, Kaszuk then exited the meeting. Sufficiently intimidated, Vath was able to get the lift master to drop his price in order to get rid of them. The lift took a few hours to reach the bed. As they descended the air was getting warmer. The loading/unloading area at the bottom had a few orcs supervising the work done by several dozen lizardfolk slaves. Beyond this area was a line of lizardfolk carrying or pushing carts containing huge amounts of ore and other resources to and from the lift. A few hours from the lift itself was the town of Zagar'ratya. It seemed like the largest portion of the population here was the race of lizardfolk. The GoG rested in this town before moving forward, tomorrow they would reach the lake of lava. In order to counteract the extreme heat both Kaszuk and Skia cast a series of Endure Elements spells. Preparations complete, they headed to the lake of lava. Reaching the lake was no issue and the trip along the edge, while concerning, was uneventful. after traveling along the coastline for several hours the time came for a rest. In the night they were set upon by a small pack of hell hounds who were easily dispatched. The following day they didn't have to walk far before they started hearing the Bellowing Beast. Whatever was making this noise was unceasing. Not so much as a breath paused the creatures call. Following the sound was an easy task. After traveling into the caverns and following the sounds for close to an hour the sound was practically deafening. Prepared for the worst, the GoG cautiously turned the next corner. There, a natural vent was screaming as it shot steam into the caverns. A vent, no creature, no plants, and certainly no Dawning Unguent. There was something unusual about the steam, however. This cavern should've been full of it but it seemed to be all collected in one small section of the passage. It was stopped by a unseen force making it appear as if there were a flat, sheer wall of steam. Powerful magic was causing this. Without knowing what was on the other side Vath volunteered to investigate. Vath gingerly tested the wall to see if it could be passed through, then proceeded through it. The rest of the GoG quickly discussed battle tactics. Vath had only been gone for a minute or two before he popped his head through the fog. He told his allies that they needed to see what was there for themselves. The GoG all stepped through. Beyond the fog the GoG beheld an impossible sight. They stood in a field of flowers, a quaint small town surrounded by a small forest and farmland, nestled in an enormous cavern. The cavern was well lit, and more importantly, the sun was shining above them. They were greeted by the locals, applauding and celebrating their arrival in much the same way that the residents of Guardstown did when they first arrived on The Shadow. This made all of them very uneasy. The mayor of the town, Mayor Fowler, insisted that the GoG come and join their feast where he would explain everything. The GoG were stunned by this new development. Unsure what to do and who to trust they stood firm in place. The mayor, disappointed, stayed with them and proceeded to explain: Several centuries ago a group of residents, descendants of the founders of Guardstown, decided to destroy Scourge. An odd form of evil began to pervade the city and a host of humans, elves, halflings, and more took to the mountain to end it. They were slowly worn down as they navigated the labyrinthine caverns. Eventually they found themselves taking refuge in the caves of the Bed. By chance they found the oasis that would become Daisy Grove. In the cavern, waiting, was the "sun." A beautiful landscape was strewn before them, begging to be inhabited. A haven in the depths of hell. The once great host, being crippled by famine, disease, and fear, opted to lay hidden beneath the mountain. They would build their numbers to one day fulfill the courageous endeavor their forefathers set out to achieve. The GoG explained their need for the Dawning Unguent and again was urged to join the feast, where their questions would be answered. They refused and told the mayor that their time was limited and they needed the unguent as soon as possible. The mayor went on to explain: The first couple of seasons of planting saw bountiful, but decreasing yields. In the fourth season, the yields plummeted. Famine brought the inhabitants of Daisy Grove to near extinction. A wizard who had traveled with them, was a bit of an eccentric, experimenting with all sorts of things. Brewing a Dawning Unguent among those experiments. As a last ditch effort, they used the unguent on the soil. The wizard wasn't even sure if the psuedo-sun would actually produce a genuine unguent. Lo-and-behold, it worked. In time, the residents of Daisy Grove perfected their brewing of the unguent and celebrate the restitution of the soil. Without the Unguent, the people of this town may die. The GoG refused to accept no for an answer and pleaded with Mayor Fowler to give up a small amount of unguent. The mayor called an emergency council meeting, at their request, to allow them to plead their case. Zorak refused to leave the edge of the town, remaining near the wall of fog. The rest of the GoG went to the council and offered everything they could: Kaszuk and Skia could promote plant growth, Vath offered the stores of bear meat an they revealed Recludum and their intentions with it. During the meeting they did learn that the people of Daisy Grove do have a year's with of food stored for emergency, an emergency that has never come before. In the end, the council voted 4 to 5 against. The GoG were denied the unguent. The citizens of the grove remained hospitable however. They apologized that they are unable to help in that way but are willing to take in or aid the GoG in any other way the are able to. Dejected, the GoG returned to the entrance of Daisy Grove to collect their thoughts and Zorak. The latter, however, was nowhere to be seen. People who were nearby said they saw him leave but when the GoG passed through the fog he was not found on the other side. Zorak is missing, the Unguent is out of reach and Bastions' fate seems sealed.